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ABOUT THE BOOK

Apocalypse All the Time is the story of Marshall, a man who is sick and tired of an apocalypse occurring every week. Everyone is obsessed with the possibility of the end of the world; life is constantly in peril but nothing significant ever happens. The emergency is always handled, over and over again. Marshall wants it all to stop . . . one way or another. Even if he has to end the world himself.

“Apocalypse All the Time combines absurdism, science fiction, and sly commentary on our current neuroses induced by the twenty-four news cycle to create something reminiscent of Orwell, Kafka, and Swift, while being entirely its own animal. By turns funny, maddening, and genuinely insightful, it’s one of the most imaginatively weird and original books I’ve read in a while,” says Joseph Hirsch, author of The Bastard’s Grimoire and other novels.

INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

What initially got you interested in writing?

My mind boggles at the idea of not having been interested in writing at some point. I had to have existed in that state at some point, literacy not being from birth, but I really don’t remember it. I had a pretty good grasp on reading when I went into kindergarten, and my parents have a picture of my at the age of three trying to read a newspaper. My parents just treated reading and writing as a natural part of life and I picked up on that. Whether it being my mother taking my sister and me to the library regularly, my father telling me I should read “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” learning something about my always distant grandfather after his death due to his love for A Canticle for Leibowitz, words were simply always around. Brought up with that, I was bound to go for it myself at some point. And, with the kind of irreverent and offbeat humor with which my parent’s raised me, I was bound to write a book like Apocalypse All the Time at some point.

How did you decide to make the move into becoming a published author?

I can only remember a bit of the decision process, given that it was in response to a freelance writer that came to talk to the fourth graders at my elementary school about her profession. My school newspaper invited me to write an article about her, which I did. That was both the first and last I ever heard about there being a school paper in the three years I attended that school. Despite that early decision, progress after that was slow. Perhaps about 20 years went by before I landed a story or two here or there. It’s only been in the last five years or so that things have really taken off to the point I’m now at with Apocalypse All the Time. It’s taken a long time, but it’s definitely worth it. Best part is people get to see some stuff I’ve been bubbling in my head for a long, long time. It’s definitely ready.

What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

The most important thing in general to me is that people have a good time reading. Sometimes that’s pleasant and sometimes that’s not, but a good time reading is a good time reading. I often want people to think as well. Different writing projects have different think goals involved, Apocalypse All the Time being heavily about how we turn apocalyptic at a moments notice, how often we turn apocalyptic, the ridiculousness of that in general, and how interestingly magical we are despite our foibles in all of that.

What do you find most rewarding about writing?

The most rewarding thing by far has to be looking back at something I’ve written and wondering where it could have come from. Some of it seems to be me, but something always seems to be beyond that…something that shows up on it’s own or doesn’t. I intend all kinds of things, but it’s always kind of a miracle to see what pops out. Doubt creeps in later, but that’s ultimately just paranoia (once I get a handle on as many actual flaws as I can). I had a big idea what I wanted to do in this book, but the finished product still has so much that I can’t quite imagine myself being capable of having done.

What do you find most challenging about writing?

The most challenging thing seems to be the book you could have written. Bursts of inspiration can take you to all kinds of heights, and it can be hard to adjust to the fact that what it feels like when you imagine isn’t what gets down on the page. I’ll always be better at imagining than writing. Still, the real part of being a writer is that part of figuring out what to do with what you did manage to get down on the page. If I’d just given up when Apocalypse All the Time turned in a direction I hadn’t originally intended, I wouldn’t’ have a book now.

What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?

The best advice I think anyone can give is just to keep writing. Nothing works if you don’t write, and given enough time everything will sort itself out if the writing continues. So many things get people down as writers. You can’t ignore them, but you can’t master them all either. If you keep writing though, you’ll have the opportunity to have enough work out for it to be worthwhile.

Is there anything else besides writing you think people would find interestingabout you?

David S. Atkinson is the author of Apocalypse All the Time (forthcoming from Literary Wanderlust), Not Quite So Stories,Bones Buried in the Dirt (2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards® finalist, First Novel (under 80,000 words)) and The Garden of Good and Evil Pancakes (2015 National Indie Excellence® Awards finalist in humor). His writing has appeared in Bartleby Snopes, Grey Sparrow Journal, Atticus Review and other literary magazines and journals. Learn more about David and his writing at www.davidsatkinsonwriting.com.

About Literary Wanderlust

Literary Wanderlust publishes well-written novels and short story anthologies in the romance, women’s fiction, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, thriller, and historical fiction genres, as well as nonfiction. Visit us at www.literarywanderlust.com.